


It's Love

by prettypurpleflower



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettypurpleflower/pseuds/prettypurpleflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris isn’t sure why, but she really doesn‘t want to deal with Barry’s girlfriend. At the same time, Barry isn’t sure about anything anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Love

'Dad, why did you let Barry bring... _Becky Cooper_ to dinner with us?'

'Why not? She seemed like a very nice and polite girl.'

Iris huffed.

'Ugh, dad! _Becky Cooper_ is a nightmare.'

'Is there a reason you keep saying her name like that?'

'Like what? I'm not saying her name in any way.'

Joe raised his eyebrows at his daughter, not believing her for one second.

'Uh-huh. What's so bad about her, Iris?'

Iris opened her mouth, ready to attack like gunfire, but suddenly she faltered.

'She... She has a really... a really shrill voice. Whenever she talks, my ears start hurting. And... She's a cheerleader.'

'So? I remember you being a cheerleader last year, too.'

'That was different, dad!' Iris exclaimed, shocked and a tiny bit upset that Joe wasn't being cooperative at all. And the worst part was that she didn't even know why she was so upset about it in the first place.

All Iris knew was that sitting at one table with her dad, Barry and _Becky Cooper_  for a whole two hours had been a living hell. Suddenly Joe had been so... chatty, asking all sorts of annoying questions, while Barry just picked at his food. Because he was too busy stuttering through every second sentence and staring wide-eyed between Iris and _Becky Cooper_. 

Okay, perhaps she did say that name in a certain way. Perhaps she even thought it that way. Something heavy settled in her stomach and she didn't like it at all.

When Iris looked up again, Barry entered the kitchen. His hair was tousled and his cheeks glowed a rosy red. She could feel her insides twist uncomfortably.

Joe turned towards Barry, smiling calmly.

'Did you say goodbye?'

'Yeah... Yeah. Bye,' Barry replied absentmindedly. Somehow it didn't sound like Iris had expected, but what had she really been expecting?

'I'm going to bed,' she announced, already on her way out. And if her steps were just a tad more forceful than necessary, then that surely hadn't been done on purpose.

Barry's gaze followed her, confusion written all over his face. 

'Is Iris angry at me?'

'Nah, don't worry. She just had... a hard day.'

'Oh, okay,' Barry said, but it was obvious that there was still a bit of doubt left.

'So... Becky. She's nice.' 

Confused, Barry blinked at Joe. It seemed his thoughts had left the room with Iris.

'I guess?' Joe chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

'Do you like her?'

'Uh... Yeah? She's a cheerleader.' There was a sort of wonder in Barry's voice that Joe couldn't help but frown at.

'I know. Believe me, Barry, I know. What I don't get is what that changes about your feelings.'

Barry rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

'It doesn't change anything. It was just nice to know that, you know, a popular girl _likes_ me. Besides Iris, I mean. Because she is super popular, too. Everyone likes Iris. Why wouldn't they?' He abruptly stopped talking, searching for his original train of thought again. 'So yeah, Becky is popular. But it's more than that, I swear! I like talking to her. You've heard it earlier, she's totally into math. I mean, I'm more of a chemistry guy, but math is cool, too. Becky is really cool.'

'Are you sure? Dating her because you like the feeling of dating someone isn't good, Barry. It'll hurt her and it'll hurt you. More than you'd probably expect.'

Barry sighed, so completely heartbroken that Joe hurt with him.

'How do I know I'm dating the right girl?'

'She'll feel like the best thing in the whole world to you. It’s _l_ _ove,_ Barry. You’ll know.'

 

~

 

Iris stared at her ceiling. In the dark, with only the moon and a sole street lamp shining through the cracks in her blinds, it almost seemed a dark blue. Restless she turned to her side again, but she still didn't feel any closer to sleep than when she had gone to bed. With a sigh she got up, sneaking as silently as possible through the hall. A step left on the carpet, a step right exactly next to the ancient cabinet that had belonged to her grandmother - Iris knew exactly how to avoid the creaking parts of the old wooden floor. For a second she hesitated, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Then she took a deep breath and opened the door.

'Bar, are you awake?' Iris whispered into the darkness. It had taken Barry an eternity to sleep without nightlights, but she could still remember clearly how adamant he had been about trying. She had never really gotten it, personally Iris preferred to have some natural light flooding her room at all times. The one time Iris had asked him about it, he had evasively muttered, 'I don't like light surprising me. Whenever a car drives by, the light just... flashes through your half opened blinds. I don't like it.'

Since then Iris had gotten used to the darkness whenever she visited Barry's room at night, figuring she didn't need to understand it to be supportive.

However, it didn't make spotting any movement around where she knew the bed was easier.

'Huh? Yeah. Come in.' There was a rustling noise and suddenly the bedside lamp turned on, bathing everything in soft oranges. Barry was sitting up against the headboard of his bed and though his eyes were drooping low, Iris was pretty sure he hadn't been able to sleep either.

Closing the door behind her, she quickly made her way across the room and sat down on the edge of Barry's bed. He frowned at her in confusion.

'Why are you sitting _there_?'

Suppressing a wide grin, Iris moved up and settled on top of the covers next to Barry.

'Better?'

He simply nodded. Any trace of a smile faded from Iris as she started talking.

'I came to apologize. I'm sorry for how I treated you and-' Iris paused. It took a lot of determination and another deep breath for her to continue. 'And I'm sorry for how I treated Becky. That wasn't okay. I just... I have a bad feeling about her. Have you even really thought a relationship with her through?'

'I'll think about it. Again,' Barry murmured, still sounding kind of sleepy.

'But don't break up with her because I said that,' she added hastily.

'I only said I'll think about it, Iris. It's fine. Becky is nice and pretty, but... I dunno. I'll think about it.'

'Good. Because I don't feel like she's the right one for you.'

'Then who is?'

Suddenly Barry's eyes on her seemed far more awake than he had sounded and it took Iris' breath away in a way she didn't have the words to explain. A shiver ran through her. And that's when she knew exactly how to reply.

'The greatest girl in the world. Don't settle for anything less because... you deserve the best, Bar.'

He looked away for a moment. Iris thought she heard him gasp, but she wondered if it wasn't her tiredness playing a trick on her. When Barry turned towards her again, everything seemed fine.

'The greatest girl in the world, you say? Not possible.' His tone was sweet and playful at the same time. Maybe the conversation wasn't weighing on him as much as she had thought.

'Why?' Iris asked, her voice so much breathier than intended. With a soft smile Barry took her hand.

'Because you're already my best friend.'

 

 


End file.
